In an effort to drum up more engagement from users, Twitter plans a native video player as an extension of its Vine service, and as a rival to Google’s YouTube. Instead of just tweeting a URL to a video elsewhere, Twitter wants users to actually upload videos to its site to keep engagement and sell you products through advertisements.

The Twitter Video website, with limited access, appeared for a short time on Friday evening, clueing us in on some of the features Twitter Video may feature when it launches in the first half of 2015. While Twitter provided a few small details about its video service on a conference call in November, this is the first time we’ve gotten some real details.

First noted by TechCrunch, the Twitter Video Player will host videos of up to 10 minutes, and it appears they won’t be stingy about file size. With a big focus on mobile apps from Twitter in the past, we’d assume video sharing would be about as easy as video sharing already is within the app. Twitter will support both mp4 and mov files.

In November, Twitter said it will allow users to edit videos right within the Twitter website (and presumably app), but the version of the service that appeared on Friday evening was absent of those features. Right now it’s simply a web player, and users can pick a thumbnail to customize how it appears on their Twitter timeline.

“Aside from just watching video more easily on Twitter, you should be able to record, edit and share your own videos natively on Twitter too,” Kevin Weil, VP of product for Twitter, said in November. “Alongside short looping Vine videos, we think you’ll have fun sharing what’s happening in your world through native video.”

It’s interesting Twitter isn’t allowing YouTube videos within its Video service – it appears Twitter wants to have its own cache of content. The real struggle, and for this to take stream, will be luring away the big names from YouTube, if at all possible. Twitter needs a way for the big names to make money on Twitter Video, like they can through YouTube’s ad sharing services.

Is Twitter headed to becoming more and more Facebook-like?

Earlier this week, Twitter expanded its “While you were away” recap feature to more users worldwide, in a greater attempt to boost user engagement within its Twitter for iOS app. The “While you were away” feature posts a recap of tweets you may have missed, and is the first time Twitter has brought non-chronological tweets to your timeline.

That would be very welcome competition. Could put some real pressure on fukn Google that has been ruining YouTube, but would for sure take some time…

leart

😀

tysiphonehelp

😀

Jonathan

Would you please stop posting this piracy repo all over iDB?

James G

I think Facebook has a better shot at usurping YouTube than twitter ever will.

haerondir

This is going to flop trust me

Mohammad Ridwan

Good luck with that.

Marcus

This might actually be pretty cool. Instead of subscribing to channels on YouTube… you would just be following people on Twitter. You’d also get to see the photos and status’ they post as well. I think this might do ok.

Noah Mospan

Ha haha hahahaha

iamzaidan

This is kinda like when google tried to replace facebook with google+
Not gona work out…
Unless they use it only for viewing videos posted on twitter…because replacing youtube ain’t gona happen

There’s no way there gonna replace YouTube.Not saying it’s impossible to replace YouTube but it’s gonna be very very hard.

LOOOL

50 ways of how to fail at life. 1st Way….

mrgerbik

2nd way – use bad grammar

Rares

They tried something similar with that twitter music app and failed.

tysiphonehelp

Damn my girlfriend effin updated my iPhone to iOS 8.1.2 then tried restoring my iPhone back to the iOS 8.1.1 before I got home hoping I wouldn’t notice. What she didn’t realize is you can’t do an iCloud backup without my iTunes password which she doesn’t have. She says she did the restore by accident “okay, accident my @ss”. I hope I can jailbreak on iOS 8.1.2 cuz I need to install the bigU Movies app from Cydia that I got from either xsellize repo, insanelyi repo, Appcake or Zeusmos. I was just using the bigU Movies app yesterday and I already downloaded the movies The Interview, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Horrible Bosses 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Interstellar, John Wick & Fury. I planned to start watching them tonight and this shit happens. lmao, I will have to upgrade to iOS 8.1.2 and hope there is a jailbreak so I can download these movies from bigU Movies app again. lol

Steve R.

I would be pissed off….

Andrew

This isn’t a true story. He’s spamming all over iDB about that bigU Movies app.

9to5Slavery

Dump her ass

Andrew

This isn’t a true story. He’s spamming all over iDB about that bigU Movies app

Truth

Kill yourself. Your life been worthless from day 1

Andrew

Wow. What an elaborate way to spam. Please, just stop.

ck125

They just want it for ads so they can try and lure more advertisers. One thing I won’t miss by using a third party Twitter app. No thanks Twitter